Happy Friday! A storm system over western Canada is going to move over central Montana as it strengthens Friday night. Precipitation will overspread the area overnight, potentially starting as rain, freezing rain, or snow but will quickly switch over to snow. Then, northerly upslope flow will lead to a heavy snowstorm impacting central Montana's mountain ranges.
It will still be very breezy on Saturday with 30-40 mph gusts likely throughout central and eastern Montana. Blowing and drifting snow is likely through the mountains leading to extremely hazardous travel. There will be snow showers throughout Saturday, with a steady and heavy snow in the mountains.
In the lower elevations, up to 3" of snow is possible through Sunday evening. In the foothills and northerly upslope areas, including Lewistown and along Highway 87 from east of Great Falls to west of Stanford, 3-8"+ of snow is expected through Saturday evening, with places between Belt and Geyser receiving up to a foot. The mountains will receive very heavy snowfall with 1 to 2 feet or more possible in the Little Belts and Highwoods. The Judith, Snowies, and Bears Paw mountains should also receive over a foot of snowfall.
By Monday, a ridge of high pressure starts to build into the Pacific Northwest. There will be more sunshine and dry conditions going into next week. Temperatures will start to rise as high pressure remains in place. Valley inversions will form, so expect fog to form in western and southwestern Montana, including for Helena.
It is looking likely that significantly colder temperatures and potentially more snow will return to the area next week for MLK weekend. We'll keep you posted!
